Digital Commons Network^™

Verve, Stephanie L. Zahareas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Pharmacological De-Prenylation Of Rhes On Motor Behavior In A Beta-Nitropropionic Acid Animal Model Of Huntington's Disease, Ashley Whitmarsh

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric disturbances. The progressive disease is caused by an unstable CAG expansion within the gene that normally encodes for the huntingtin protein (Htt). The expanded mutant form of Htt (mHtt) is expressed ubiquitously throughout patients’ bodies; however, neuronal degeneration is prominent only in the corpus striatum and, to a lesser extent, the cortex. The Ras homolog Rhes is also preferentially localized to the striatum. The putative co-factor Rhes has been shown to act with mHtt to cause neuronal death. Simvastatin, a lipid lowering drug, and zoledronate, a …

Classification Of Breast Cancer Patients Using Somatic Mutation Profiles And Machine Learning Approaches, Suleyman Vural

Theses & Dissertations

The high degree of heterogeneity observed in breast cancers makes it very difficult to classify cancer patients into distinct clinical subgroups and consequently limits the ability to devise effective therapeutic strategies. In this study, we explore the use of gene mutation profiles to classify, characterize and predict the subgroups of breast cancers. We analyzed the whole exome sequencing data from 358 ethnically similar breast cancer patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Identified somatic and non-synonymous single nucleotide variants were assigned a quantitative score (C-score) that represents the extent of negative impact on the function of the gene. Using …

Photooxidation Reactions Of Small-Chain Methyl Esters, Aerosol Photoelectron Spectroscopy, And The Photodissociation Of Ethylenediamine, Giel Muller

Master's Theses

Research conducted at the University of San Francisco is presented within this masters thesis, including the Cl-initiated photooxidation reactions of methyl propanoate, methyl butanoate, and methyl valerate (pentanoate), the aerosol photoelectron spectroscopy of isoprene and gamma-valerolactone, and the TPEPICO investigation of ethylenediamine. Experiments were conducted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Advanced Light Source (ALS), the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Hsinchu City (NSRRC), and the University of Stockton in California, respectively.

Developing Inter-Professional Oral Health Education: An Evaluation Of Educational Resources, Jordan A. Jew

Master's Projects and Capstones

As healthcare continues to evolve, providers will need to uphold the quality of patient care provided to patients. Traditional healthcare holds many gaps that do not recognize the unmet needs that exist within today’s society. To maximize the abilities of healthcare services, inter-professional education introduces a collaborative approach that develops a network of shared knowledge and clinical skills beyond the primary scope of practice.

In this project, oral health learning modules developed for family practice residents were introduced to first-year dental students at the Dugoni School of Dentistry to improve their knowledge and confidence to both educate and practice with …

A Desert In Disguise: The Resilience Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Jeff Hartman

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Nebraska Sandhills are the largest sand dune system in the Western Hemisphere, and are unique because they remain relatively undisturbed from row crop agriculture. Research in the past two decades demonstrated that the Sandhills are dynamic on millennial timescales, switching between stabilized, vegetated states to non-vegetated, mobilized states. The Sandhills are currently stabilized, but understanding how ecological processes are altered as sand dunes transition from stabilized to mobilized states, provides insight into the thresholds, stability, and resilience of this grassland ecosystem. My research investigated the impacts of vegetation disturbances on ecological processes and the sand dune surface stability. For …

Dislocation And Adjustment Of International Student-Athletes, Thiago Brito Lopes

Master's Theses

One reason that attracts international student-athletes to American universities could be the interest in earning high quality education with the possibility of playing high performance sports. However, when compared to other international students, differences are seen: Other foreign students who look for a degree in the US desire not only an international education, but also potentially staying in the country. The University of San Francisco, where a cosmopolitan city meets education, fits it best. At USF, 82 countries are represented, reaching a number of 1708 students. Approximately ¼ of the whole student population is international. The ratio with student-athletes is …

The German Army At A Crossroads Of Modernization, Sarah E. Liebig

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the German civil-military relationship and the challenges the country is facing amidst modernizing reforms to the German armed forces. Over the last quarter of a century, new international security threats have manifested and continue to transform requiring Germany to adapt its military and defense policies in order to effectively protect itself and serve as a capable ally to other member states of international organizations such as NATO and the EU. The adaptations and reforms required of Germany have led to concern that the cornerstone civil-military relationship concepts are at risk. In this thesis I identify the major …

Urban Stormwater Management: Treatment Of Heavy Metals And Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons With Bioretention And Permeable Pavement Technologies, Viktoriya Sirova

Master's Projects and Capstones

Urban stormwater runoff is a major non-point source of pollutants release into the environment. Pollutants of concern include sediments; heavy metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); petroleum hydrocarbons; and chlorinated organic compounds, such as pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. Conventional stormwater management practices are designed to dispose of the runoff as quickly as possible, not to treat the pollutants. Low Impact Development (LID) concept is an alternative approach to the conventional framework that attempts to recreate hydrologically functional landscape mimicking pre-development regimes. This research paper assesses the effectiveness of two LID technologies, bioretention and permeable pavements in treating PAHs and common urban …

Adapting To Rising Sea Levels In San Francisco Bay: The Potential For Thin Layer Sediment Application To Enhance Tidal Marsh Resiliency Through This Century, Scott K. Hine

Master's Projects and Capstones

The research here focuses on two projected century sea-level rise scenarios (100 and 180 cm/century) and the potential to offset elevation loss to sea-level rise by supplying deteriorating tidal marsh habitat with a thin layer of dredge sediment via high-pressure spray disposal within San Francisco Bay. This adaptation strategy is then analyzed for potential integration into the Bay’s long term management plan for dredge material disposal. The Marsh Equilibrium Model (Morris, 2012) is used to evaluate elevation deficits for existing tidal marsh habitat around San Pablo Bay against future century sea-level rise scenarios and model marsh resiliency following elevation enhancement. …

Extension Agriculture And Natural Resources In The U.S. Midwest: A Review And Analysis Of Challenges And Future Opportunities, Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi, Roger Wesley Elmore, Gerald A. Miller, David Kwaw-Mensah

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This review addresses key changes in U.S. agricultural extension and future opportunities. Agricultural extension has been a part of the land-grant university (LGU) system for more than 100 years. The Morrill Act of 1862 established the LGU system by authorizing states access to federally controlled land and funding for public institutions offering educational opportunities focusing on agriculture and mechanical arts for farmers and the working class. Current surveys in Iowa reveal changing trends in extension: more than 90% of farmers identified private-sector crop advisers as their primary source for recommendations, whereas more than 80% of those advisors identified Iowa State …

Assessment Of Selected Antibiotic Resistances In Ungrazed Native Nebraska Prairie Soils, Lisa M. Durso, David A. Wedin, John E. Gilley, Daniel N. Miller, David B. Marx

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The inherent spatial heterogeneity and complexity of antibioticresistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance (AR) genes in manureaffected soils makes it difficult to sort out resistance that can be attributed to human antibiotic use from resistance that occurs naturally in the soil. This study characterizes native Nebraska prairie soils that have not been affected by human or food-animal waste products to provide data on background levels of resistance in southeastern Nebraskan soils. Soil samples were collected from 20 sites enumerated on tetracycline and cefotaxime media; screened for tetracycline-, sulfonamide-, b-lactamase–, and macrolide-resistance genes; and characterized for soil physical and chemical parameters. All …

Bodipy-Based Fluorescent Probes For Sensing Protein Surface-Hydrophobicity, Nethaniah Dorh, Shilei Zhu, Kamal B. Dhungana, Ranjit Pati, Fen-Tair Luo, Haiying Liu, Ashutosh Tiwari

Department of Chemistry Publications

Mapping surface hydrophobic interactions in proteins is key to understanding molecular recognition, biological functions, and is central to many protein misfolding diseases. Herein, we report synthesis and application of new BODIPY-based hydrophobic sensors (HPsensors) that are stable and highly fluorescent for pH values ranging from 7.0 to 9.0. Surface hydrophobic measurements of proteins (BSA, apomyoglobin, and myoglobin) by these HPsensors display much stronger signal compared to 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANS), a commonly used hydrophobic probe; HPsensors show a 10- to 60-fold increase in signal strength for the BSA protein with affinity in the nanomolar range. This suggests that these HPsensors …

Here Goes Nothing: Creating The Role Of Timothy Allgood In "Noises Off.", Justin G. Bupp

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Noises Off is the epitome of farce. Doors everywhere, mistaken identities, and unrequited love. The characters push themselves to the limit, both mentally and physically. They stop at nothing to put on their production and their stage manager, Timothy Allgood, becomes the babysitter of the group, which at times becomes comparable to herding cats.

This document describes the journey made from casting to final bows. It contains biographical research on the playwright, Michael Frayn, as well as a historical look at the genre of farce, techniques pioneered by Sanford Meisner and Konstantin Stanislavski, along with materials, including a scored script, …

Exit, Promising, Stephanie Doyle

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A collection of short stories.

A Quantitative Study Of The Variables That Influence Work-Family Conflict Of Female Counselors, Emeline Eckart

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between female counselors’ work-family conflict and their demographic (i.e., ethnicity, age, educational level, and annual household income), occupational (i.e., ethnicity, age, educational level, and annual household income), and family (i.e., marital/partner status; number of children at home under the age of 18; age of youngest child; care of elderly, ill, or disabled family members; source of support; and support) characteristics. Super’s (1990) Life-Space Life-Span theory provided a framework to understand female counselors’ engagement in multiple roles in work and family and the conflict that can result in two directions: work …

Restoration Of A Wet Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Savanna In Southeast Louisiana: Burning Toward Reference Conditions, Alex K. Entrup

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study quantifies the changes in vegetation composition and structure of a fire-excluded Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) wetland savanna restoration site in southeastern in comparison to a proximate contemporary reference site. The restoration site was invaded by hardwood species and off-site pines, and never underwent extensive soil disturbance. The restoration treatments involved logging across portions of the site and the reintroduction of fire across the entire site. All species present in 10m² quadrats were recorded prior to treatment and throughout the 17 year study at reference and treatment sites. The community composition of both logged and unlogged sites converged …

Field Study Of Electrochemical Disinfection Of Municipal Wastewater, Luis De Grau Vidal

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research on electrochemical disinfection of municipal wastewater has been conducted at the University of New Orleans using a continuous flow electrochemical reactor connected to a direct current (DC) power supply changing its polarity and varying the electrode distance. Bacterial inactivation and chlorine production were the main parameters that were recorded.

After months of research, it was determined that the electrochemical disinfection reactor is efficient and has a great potential for the future. There is no need to use chlorine and it has low operation costs.

The following design recommendations for an electrochemical disinfection unit were given:

• A detention time of …

Cognitive Castles: Place And The Castle Of Otranto, Kevin I. Flotte

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This article analyzes The Castle of Otranto from a biocultural perspective. Firstly, the theoretical landscape of Gothic horror is explored. This is followed by some suggestions on how evolutionary approaches might add to the conversation about Gothic horror. The last section applies evolutionary and cognitive approaches to The Castle of Otranto in a reading of the novel. Attention is paid to the varied ways in which Gothic horror subverts and undermines evolved strategies for the creation of meaning and understanding. Gothic tropes such as the Gothic tunnel or labyrinth undercut the dynamic and ongoing creation of place that is essential …

Fearful Temperament Moderates The Association Between Positive Parenting And Children's Social Competence During Early Childhood, Jessica M. Grande

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Social competence during kindergarten has been linked to adaptive teacher-child and peer relationships. The quality of parents’ interaction with their children during the toddler years may promote better social development placing children on a trajectory towards social competence. Quite possibly, children vary in how responsive they are to parenting efforts. This study evaluated the extent to which positive parenting predicted change in social competence from child age 3 to 4 among 137 parent-child dyads. Observational measures of positive parenting and fearful temperament were analyzed when children were 3-years of age. Teacher reports of social competence in the classroom were collected …

Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, And Zinc Levels In Crayfish From Southwest Louisiana And Atchafalaya Basin, E. Gerald Hebert

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metal contamination in food is a worldwide concern. Man-made ponds are domestic sites in the production of Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus zonangulus, two edible species of crayfish. Ponds may be constructed in former sugar cane or rice fields. Crayfish farming is an ancillary seasonal business within the rice-growing season. The use of products to control insects, pests, and weeds in rice and sugar cane production, may cause an accumulation of heavy metals in the crayfish tail within pond structures. Arsenic, cadmium, copper, and zinc are heavy metals that are absorbed through the roots of and distributed through rice products. …

How The Manipulation Of The Ras Homolog Enriched In Striatum Alters The Behavioral And Molecular Progression Of Huntington’S Disease, Franklin A. Lee

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease is an incurable, progressive neurological disorder characterized by loss of motor control, psychiatric dysfunction, and eventual dystonia leading to death. Despite the fact that this disorder is caused by a mutation in one single gene, there is no cure. The mutant Huntingtin (mHtt) protein is expressed ubiquitously throughout the brain but frank cell death is limited to the striatum. Recent work has suggested that Rhes, Ras homolog enriched in striatum, which is selectively expressed in the striatum, may play a role in Huntington’s disease neuropathology. In vitro studies have shown Rhes to be an E3 ligase for the …

Emotional And Autonomic Responding To Auditory Stimuli, Jeremy C. Peres

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research examining emotion induction, regulation, and suppression considers solely the visual modality (e.g., pictures of faces) for emotion elicitation. In reality, emotions are cued, expressed, and interpreted through multiple modalities by employing the extensive use of auditory stimuli in addition to visual stimuli. There have been some recent efforts to offset this imbalance in modality preference by using emotional auditory stimuli alone or in addition to visual stimuli. This project aims to further investigate emotional and autonomic responding to auditory stimuli with the added component of examining differential responding across social (nonlinguistic vocal expression) and non-social auditory …

The Interaction Of Parenting And The Serotonin Transporter Gene On Trajectories Of Fearfulness In Early Childhood, Moira R. Riley

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Children who are more fearful and inhibited during early childhood are at greater risk for social problems (e.g., loneliness, social isolation) and clinically significant internalizing disorders during adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Rubin, Chen, McDougall, Bowker, & McKinnon, 1995; Williams et al., 2009). While the impact of fearful temperament on adjustment indices are regularly the focus of study, less well understood are biological and social processes that may affect the development of fearful temperament. The present study considered the role of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and parenting on change in fearful and inhibited temperamental characteristics during early childhood.

The s/s genotype …

Developing And Testing An Anguilliform Robot Swimming With Theoretically High Hydrodynamic Efficiency, John B. Potts Iii

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

An anguilliform swimming robot replicating an idealized motion is a complex marine vehicle necessitating both a theoretical and experimental analysis to completely understand its propulsion characteristics. The ideal anguilliform motion within is theorized to produce ``wakeless'' swimming (Vorus, 2011), a reactive swimming technique that produces thrust by accelerations of the added mass in the vicinity of the body. The net circulation for the unsteady motion is theorized to be eliminated.

The robot was designed to replicate the desired, theoretical motion by applying control theory methods. Independent joint control was used due to hardware limitations. The fluid velocity vectors in the …

Fearful Temperament Moderates The Effect Of Harsh Parenting On Early Childhood Problem Behaviors Within Dangerous Neighborhoods: A Multilevel Analysis, Brenna Sapotichne

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Design, Construction, And Optimization Of The Energy Resolution Of A Xenon Tpc Detector, Nicholas E. Destefano

Doctoral Dissertations

PIXeY (Particle Identification in Xenon at Yale) is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon prototype detector with 3-kg active mass. The two-phase xenon technology has many applications that include gamma-ray imaging, neutrinoless double beta decay searches, dark matter searches, and medical imaging PET scanners. PIXeY was built to optimize energy resolution, with a number of technological improvements over previous work. Parallel-wire grids, which control the drift and proportional-scintillation fields, are optimized both for light-collection efficiency and field uniformity with optical transparencies between 92% and 97%. High voltage epoxy feedthroughs have been installed with stable operating voltages better than 5 kV on the …

Strengthening Public Health Through Web-Based Data Query Systems, Manik Ahuja

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted.

First Report Of Invasive Crane Fly, Tipula Oleracea, In Utah, A Van Dyke, Ricardo A. Ramirez, B A. Mcgraw

Biology Faculty Publications

The known range of the common crane fly (Tipula oleracea L.) is expanding in the western US, as adults were captured (by me) in Utah while emerging and flying over golf course rough. Adults were collected at The Ridge Golf Course in West Valley City on 15 September, 2014, and identified by Dr. Benjamin McGraw at the Pennsylvania State University Turfgrass Entomology Lab in University Park, PA. Crane fly larvae (known as leather jackets for their tough skin) were previously found (again, by me) with the help of golf course superintendent Brian Roth on 4 August, 2012 damaging putting greens …

Utilizing Ecological Connectivity In California Desert Wilderness Preservation, Lauren Kahal

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Wilderness Act of 1964 gave the federal land management agencies—the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management—the authority to identify, propose, and manage lands as wilderness. Wilderness, once approved by Congress for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, is offered the highest form of land preservation in the nation. However, the wilderness identification process used by the implementing agencies is based on a half-century old statute with an aging definition of wilderness. While designated wilderness can protect the plant and wildlife communities within its borders from direct anthropogenic …